Microprocessors (referred to herein simply as “processors”) consume energy during their operation. It is advantageous to reduce the amount of energy consumed, particularly in the case of devices that run off of limited power supplies.
Various factors affect the amount of energy that a processor consumes. For example, the frequency at which the processor operates and the size of the voltage supply that powers the processor contribute to processor energy consumption. Reducing the frequency of the processor or the voltage supply may decrease processor energy consumption; however, doing so may also adversely affect the performance of the processor.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a way of reducing processor energy consumption that does not have a significant adverse affect on processor performance. The reductions in energy consumption should also be scaleable, meaning that they can be implemented on processors having different architectures.